"Rail transport between Russia and Turkey will assist the two countries in furthering their trade relations, including in agriculture and metallurgy," Sergey Pavlov, the First Deputy Managing Director of the Russian Railways, said.
The running of the first container train on the BTK railway, which completed its Turkey-Russia route on Feb 9, was defined as a significant step for expanding rail trade.
In Sergey Pavlov's words, rail transports between Russia and Turkey are growing stably, and in 2020, cargo transports between the two countries surpassed 20 mln tonnes, which is a 10% increase if compared to the last year.
Pavlov stressed that Russia expresses readiness to transport the cargo via the BTK regularly.
"We have learned that this route is cheaper, less time-consuming, and, correspondingly, more beneficial than other transport routes. Suppose we do not consider the time for loading and unloading the cargo. In that case, the delivery period will prove ten days, implying that the estimated delivery time has been halved. Additionally, the weather can pose no risks to rail transport, and it is also safe amidst the pandemic," Pavlov stated.
The First Deputy Managing Director of the Russian Railways also said that in addition to consumer goods, the transportation of fruits and vegetables with refrigerator containers would be possible from Turkey to Russia.
Pavlov also pointed out that negotiations are underway with Russian carriers to transport wood and paper products as well as cereals with containers to Turkey. According to him, Russian metallurgy companies show interest in developing direct rail services with Turkey. Last year, the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant transported more than 45 thousand tonnes of steel via the BTK.
"We are now working on increasing the share of rail transports between Russia and Turkey. Direct rail services between our countries have contributed to carrying out this task," Pavlov declared.
